Josie's broken heart

Josie came into our rescue on 10/25/17 when she was found as a stray. Being the director of a rescue organization, I have seen more than my share of neglected, hungry, abused animals. Although they all break my heart, few have made me cry. One look at Josie brought me to my knees in tears. Never have I seen a dog so completely starved and broken. Every bone in her little body was visible. And as terrible as her outward appearance was, what worried me even more was that she seemed to be struggling to breathe. At first it was just slightly noticeable. I thought maybe she had a touch of pneumonia from being outside in the elements. I planned to have her at my vet's office the next morning, as soon as they opened.  But as the night went on, her breathing continued to get worse and worse. Finally at about 2am, Josie was struggling so much that I was afraid she wouldn't make it the several more hours until my vet opened, so I made the decision to take her to the Arkansas Veterinary Emergency and Specialist Hospital. The veterinarians and staff there were amazing and took Josie in right away, getting her much needed oxygen and started running tests to find out what was going on. We are still waiting on some of those results. She is still in the hospital. What we know right now is that Josie is in right sided heart failure. What we don't know for sure is why. She did test positive for heartworms which could be the cause, but on the radiographs, there is clearly something more going on with her lungs. We suspect she has a fungal infection, Blastomycosis. We will get test results back on that early next week. For now, Josie is staying hospitalized so she can continue to get oxygen. Once we know the underlying cause, we are hopeful that with treatment, Josie will recover. Her prognosis is guarded, but we are hopeful and we will not give up on this sweet girl. What breaks my heart the most is the love that she wants to give and receive. After all she's been through and all of her suffering, she still wants to love. It crushes me to think of her on her own, for no telling how long, hungry and cold and with no one to care for her, and now that she finally has someone to love her she may not have the opportunity to live to enjoy it. I can not let that happen. I have to give her every chance possible, to live a life that will overshadow her past and help her forget how cruel this world can be. Unfortunately, giving her that chance comes with a fairly high price tag. At this time, her vet bill is up to $2000. She will still need heartworm treatment and possibly treatment for the fungal disease, as well as routine vetting once she is healthy enough. If you can spare any amount, please consider giving to help us help her. I don't think there has ever been anyone more deserving than this sweet angel.